FILE PHOTO: Jun 24, 2023; Portland, Oregon, USA; NEOM McLaren Formula E Team driver Jake Hughes (5) rounds a turn during the practice session at the 2023 Portland E-Prix at Portland International Raceway. Mandatory Credit: Al Sermeno-USA TODAY Sports/File Photo
LONDON (Reuters) - McLaren will have a livery generated by artificial intelligence on their electric cars for this weekend's London Formula E title-decider in what the Saudi-backed team claimed as a motorsport first.
The artwork, celebrating McLaren's 60th anniversary, used text-to-image AI to process the visions of drivers Rene Rast and Jake Hughes along with four members of sponsor NEOM's graduate development programme.
The visuals were then combined using image-to-image AI and mapped onto the car.
NEOM McLaren said it was a first in an FIA-accredited world championship event.
Formula E will have a new champion this year, with Avalanche Andretti driver Jake Dennis 24 points clear of Envision Racing's Nick Cassidy going into the final two races in London's Docklands.
Dennis, a two times winner in London, would be the first British world champion in the electric city-based series while Cassidy would be the first New Zealander.
(Reporting by Alan Baldwin, editing by Toby Davis)
